Comments on: t'ien ming

t'ien ming

four panels — Sat, 20 Mar 2004 08:27:39 -0800

China's Building Blitz. In scale and pace, the building boom currently sweeping over China has no precedent in human history. China is spending about $375 billion each year on construction, nearly 16 percent its gross domestic product. In the process, it is using 54.7 percent of the world's production of concrete, 36.1 percent of the world's steel, and 30.4 percent of the world's coal.

By: Postroad

Postroad — Sat, 20 Mar 2004 08:37:04 -0800

Any condos for sale for Yankees? Needs mentyioning: along with this huge spurt of building and manufacturing is a huge appetite for OIL OIL OIL...now speculate

By: matteo

matteo — Sat, 20 Mar 2004 08:38:54 -0800

China Plans to Pass the U.S. on Fuel Economy The Cost of Dirty Air: Using Atmospheric to Quantify the Impact of Air Pollution on Agriculture and Human Health in China, sponsored by the China Project of the Harvard University Center for the Environment Visible Earth: China pollution China Pollution Indicators and Status China - Environmental Issues

By: stbalbach

stbalbach — Sat, 20 Mar 2004 09:53:36 -0800

The Death of Chinas Rivers Peasants Bear the Brunt of China's Energy Plans China in an Energy Quandry China Awakens to its Devastated Environment

By: ZenMasterThis

ZenMasterThis — Sat, 20 Mar 2004 09:59:13 -0800

'Cause remember: 5% of the world's population consumes 95% of the world's resources. Or something...

By: h00dini

h00dini — Sat, 20 Mar 2004 10:04:15 -0800

Ok everyone, time to lay off China. Every now-developed country has at various points in their histories exploited the environment (or still does). Because you are all now all enlightened you seem to forget that and decide that other countries can't develop in the same way. All this talk on the environment parallels the debate over free trade. Everybody developed their economies using protectionist policies, and when their economies were able to compete, they turned into free traders and tried to browbeat other countries into opening their economies. I say let China use all the coal it wants to keep its 1 bil people warm until it is able to afford cleaner means. Let them displace people for dams, if it means they can develop hydroelectric power and people will be better off in the future. It is hypocritical to criticize them for it.

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Sat, 20 Mar 2004 10:18:46 -0800

Actually, the USA has a higher CO2 output than China.

By: Spacelegoman

Spacelegoman — Sat, 20 Mar 2004 10:21:25 -0800

We used coal and dams a hundred and fifty years ago to develop, there must be a better way in 2004.

By: RubberHen

RubberHen — Sat, 20 Mar 2004 10:21:57 -0800

All I can say is that some of there skyscraping constructions in Shanghai are quite Logans Run /futuristic ( jpeg view )

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Sat, 20 Mar 2004 10:56:05 -0800

Takes balls to create architecture like that, it does.

By: delmoi

delmoi — Sat, 20 Mar 2004 11:18:08 -0800

We used coal and dams a hundred and fifty years ago to develop, there must be a better way in 2004.

We use coal and dams today. And what's wrong with a dam anyway? Sure, it upsets the local environment, but no more then, for example a skyscraper.

By: PigAlien

PigAlien — Sat, 20 Mar 2004 13:21:38 -0800

Actually, I was in China in 1993 and was completely, utterly and totally astounded at the amount of construction that was happening at the time. I remember coming back home to London and telling all my friends, "China is one GIGANTIC construction site!" I had never seen anything like it in my life. Entire mountainsides had been dug up for construction. I am not at all surprised to see these statistics.

By: PigAlien

PigAlien — Sat, 20 Mar 2004 13:22:05 -0800

PS, I really enjoyed the pictures. Nice post, Four Panels!

By: stavrosthewonderchicken

stavrosthewonderchicken — Sun, 21 Mar 2004 05:19:25 -0800

The tipping point approaches, like a flatulent brontosaurus in ballet slippers.

By: troutfishing

troutfishing — Sun, 21 Mar 2004 07:43:17 -0800

"I say let China use all the coal it wants to keep its 1 bil people warm until it is able to afford cleaner means" - I say the first world invests in helping China develop clean energy sources. China has every right, especially considering the profligate energy consumption of the US, to burn all the coal it wants to. And it will, unless the affluent world provides China with the technological and financial means so that it can leapfrog the dirty phase of industrialization and avoid powering it's economy with coal. Maybe the US, for example, could eliminate some of the tens of billions (US $) in federal subsidies that currently go to subsidizing oil, coal, and nuclear power in the US and, instead, spend that money - in the form of loans - in assisting China to develop clean energy. This would help to partially correct the current US balance of payments deficit with China as well.

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Sun, 21 Mar 2004 09:12:50 -0800

It'd be better for the USA to focus on getting its own citizens to quit using more energy than anyone else in the world. China produces less CO2 than the USA.

By: PigAlien

PigAlien — Fri, 26 Mar 2004 05:35:23 -0800

The tragedy of the commons has never really been a tragedy because there's always been another commons nearby to exploit. I'm afraid, however, that our entire atmosphere and ecosystem are the last tragedy of the commons we may ever experience and, as usual, we don't seem to be able to do much about it.